Tag: Podcast

Are you simply going along for the ride or are you driving the car? Which choice will take you where you want to go? Last week on Episode 68 we spoke about “Turning a Negative Into a Positive” and we are going to continue speaking about this, in this week’s episode “Deal With It”.

In the construction trade we work ourselves out of a job. If you haven’t been laid off it may very well happen in the future; because this is just the nature of our job. Should we slow down our work to make the job last longer? No, because then the boss will not be making any money and if he isn’t making any money he will not be able to keep us working, so we have the same result. We should always be planning our future so that we can deal with the unexpected turns in life.

We talk about safety on the job all the time; be alert, be prepared, look around and know what’s going on around you. We need to do this in our careers also. We have to always be looking for that opportunity. When working in the Trades you need to understand the game of the construction field. There are those around you that are at different levels in their careers:

There are those who are new to the profession that may not even realize that there is a game. But there is, and they can help themselves by learning the rules of the game. When you don’t know the game sometimes you just need to sit back, listen and watch and learn the rules. In this way, they are preparing for what they will need to do in the future.

There are those that have been around for awhile and want to make their mark on the construction field. Some of these want to be noticed and will tear down others just so that they can move up the ladder. But this becomes known and then their reputation is ruined and they leave a wake of damage behind them.

There are also those that are seasoned in the trades and have self confidence based on experience. But some of these do not know how to relate to those under them. They feel that they had to work hard to get to the place they are at so they are not going to show a younger tradesman how to do it.

There are also those who no matter what stage they are at, continue to grow and learn new things so that when an opportunity comes they are ready.

And then there is everyone in-between.

Challenge yourself to learn 2 or 3 new things every week or better yet learn something new everyday. You never want to reach the point that you think you have arrived. You always want to be learning how to play the game of “life” so that you are ready for whatever comes your way. If you lose your job, you will have enough skills and self-confidence to see this as an opportunity to get a better job. You hear about glass half full or half empty attitudes, but these are just feel statements, with no real action. You need to take action so that you can fill the cup up to the brim not only half full or empty. When your cup starts getting down go do something: listen to a podcast, go learn something new, take a course on the internet. Many courses are on the Surging Forward website.

Learn what you can control in your life and what you can’t. What you can control in your life is things that you do; what you can’t control in your life is things that other people do. If you can control it and things are not going well, then take action to change it. If you are a foreman and there are problems on the job then change it. Don’t let the problems continue. Fix it. If you don’t know how to fix it then go read a book or even easier “Goggle” it.

If you are in a situation and someone does something you don’t agree with and you have no control over it, then you just need to accept that fact and “deal with it”. If a boss makes a decision you don’t like; you can go and talk to him and offer a suggestion. If he insists that this is the way it is to be done, then you need to do it his way or quit. This is where your self-confidence comes into play. If you can not abide by the bosses changes then you need to work on what you can control and start improving your skills so that you can move on to another job.

You should always be keeping your glass full and even overflowing because as your cup overflows, the water overflows around you and then you are making a difference in the lives of the people around you. You will be influencing them in a positive way. Don’t allow circumstances or other people to influence you in a negative way. You can’t make choices for someone else. You can only decide to make a choice for yourself. You can’t make another person do anything. You can only choose what you want to do. You can choose to always be learning and taking advantage of as much training as possible so that when tough times come you are ready and can take advantage of the opportunity.

Look at the stock market. When it starts going down some people panic and start selling their stocks, but whenever you sell a stock someone has to be willing to buy it. They are taking advantage of this opportunity that others saw as a negative. Remember to always be planning for your future so that you can take a negative and turn it into a positive and keep “Surging Forward”.

You may be wondering about the strange title I chose for this week episode. Why talk about a negative so close to Thanksgiving.Yes it is that time and to be truthful many of you may not think you have much to be thankful about. Lets be real It seems too many other things control our lives including our jobs schedule, our boss, our family, even things we have to get done for a good cause. Many people put on the face of being thankful but are really hurting and just wish for once that someone would just listen to them. That is the reason for the title. I want to talk how you can take a negative a turn it to a positive. I have always tried to be honest when sharing with my students when teaching the Apprenticeship. I don’t sugar coat things and say crazy things like once you get your Journeyman’s card life will be easy. That’s not how it is at all. Many of you listening know good and well how hard the trades are. I would like to share with you actually two stories and both are true and both are about things that happened in my life. Before I begin understand that though these stories are true each person listening to this podcast has their own story whether they are positive or negative depends on the choice that you make not based on what someone , something, or a circumstance does to you as you will see in my two stories.

Every decision we make everyday can make the difference on the outcome of any situation. If you are around negative people start moving away and surround yourself with positive people. I see a lot of negative at my day job and one day the right door may open bit I have to have the right skills to be ready. Some will say I don’t have many positive people around me, than listen to some podcasts. I listen to many different ones as I am driving that will inspire me to do better at what I do and that is making a difference to those in the trades and other careers. If you have any questions or thoughts feel free to leave a comment or review on Itunes, or the website at www.surging forwardpodcast.com Looking to start you own business we just so happen to have a course for that no matter what state you are in visit www.surgingforward.com Looking for those CEU’s for your license renewal or looking to get a tradesman listen again check out surging forward.com.

I look forward to hearing from you and as always thank you for your encouragement as we are all on the same journey to Keep Surging Forward Until next week have a great week

Are You Going in the Right Direction – Sometimes as leaders we tend to feel alone and that no one understands the stress that we have. I would like to address this by wrapping up the past six episodes in our series on the Six Basic Human Needs. By understanding how to apply each of the Six Basic Human Needs we will learn to see how looking out for the needs of others, your own needs as a leader will be met. We will see how when motivating others to succeed, we will succeed as well.

Basic Need Number One was discussed in Episode 61 “A False Sense of Security”. We talked about Certainty and Comfort. Leaders guide those under them to get training that may benefit their career this will give their workers more self-confidence instead of the feeling of helplessness. You as a leader may be the only positive voice speaking into their lives.

Basic Need Number Two was discussed in Episode 62 “Changing the Mundane”. We talked about Variety. Leaders provide a break from the mundane by becoming more creative in motivating those under them to get the job completed. Leaders find ways to make a tough job in the field more fun.

Basic Need Number Three was discussed in Episode 63 “The Need to Feel Important”. We spoke about Significance. Leaders need to treat each person we work with as an individual who is important. Leaders can cause someone to make a drastic change for the worst if you tear them down, especially in front of their peers. Leaders need to provide discipline and correction in private.

Basic Need Number Four was discussed in Episode 64 “The Love Connection”. We spoke about being Loved or Cared About. Leaders probably over look this basic need the most with those that they have influence. We are not saying you have to give them a hug or get all mushy. But when a leader applies all of the attributes talked about in this series to those under them, then they will have a sense that you really care for them. A leader needs to realize that their success depends on the success of those under them.

Basic Need Number Five was discussed in Episode 65 “Continuing to Grow”. We spoke about everyone wanting the opportunity to Grow. Leaders can provide the open door that can help those you influence to really shine. As a leader you are in a position to see strengths that maybe even that person may not know they have. If you see something in a person, say something. In turn, you will continue to grow in your strengths as you grow in your understanding that we all have special talents.

Basic Need Number Six was discussed in Episode 66 “What is Your Contribution? We spoke about people wanting to be able to make a difference. You as a leader have the ability to guide someone to help someone else in need. As a leader instead of you always being the one to jump in and save the day, why not guide one of the people under you that may be lacking in self confidence, the chance to demonstrate their skills. This will boost their confidence and you will have also met at least 3 of the 6 Basic Human Needs for that person.

As a leader we can see the overall picture and provide ways to fit others into areas to help them succeed. Knowing your team members, their strengths and weaknesses, and understanding these Six Basic Human Needs will allow you to create a team that will not only follow you but, also respect you. Bad leaders make demands by threats and intimidation, thus their workers only work out of fear, doing the minimum to survive.

Continuing to grow as a leader by serving the needs of others will enable you to keep “Surging Forward” as well as helping others to keep “Surging Forward” with the whole team going in the right direction.

Join me next week as I talk about Being Laid off in Episode 68 “I Lost My Job”

Contribution, this is number six in our series on the Six Basic Human Needs.

Contribution, what does it mean? Why is it one of the six basic human needs that we all have?

We all have dreams and aspirations. When we were young maybe we wanted to go to the stars or even become the president. But what are you good at? What is it that you can do naturally? We look around us and try to do what others do, but what is your special skill? Using that skill, that talent, is your contribution. A contribution is using our talents to make this world a better place.

Contribution gives us a sense of value and worth. It is the knowledge that we are making a difference in someone’s life.

There is a Bible parable about “Talents”. Summarized it is about a master that gives out some talents to his workers before he leaves on a trip. When he returns, he calls his workers unto himself and wants to see how they used the talents he gave them. What contribution did they make? Two of the workers doubled their talents. The master was so happy with them that he gave them a reward. One of the workers just set his talent aside and never used it. The master was very angry with this worker and took away his talent. In this parable the master may sound mean, but the workers were given these talents to be used, to contribute; to make a difference in someone’s life.

Take the talents that you have and use them. Don’t try to be someone else. Don’t let someone take away your talent by listening to their negativity. This will only leave you angry and feel like the world took something from you. Go out and use your talent. You may need to learn something new. Take advantage of the tools that are out there to help you grow. There are a lot of on-line classes. Take a few and grow your talent. Even if you just have one talent; take that one talent and use it. You may become the next Einstein or Tesla.

Use your talent to help other keep “Surging Forward” and make this world a better place.

Growth, this is number five in our series on The Six Basic Human Needs

We have all been in a place where we want to quit, but growing is vital in order to avoid the risk of failing to keep “Surging Forward”.

We have all heard and even the Bible states to be content. But being content does not mean becoming stagnant. Growth or continuing to improve yourself also does not mean having to be better than everyone else. Around the world many say we are different, but in many ways we are very much the same. We all have a desire to grow. But sometimes we don’t know how to grow or we are fearful of the unknown. Sometimes we don’t know who to trust. Trust is a big factor in growth, but we all fear getting hurt or burned by someone we care about. That goes back to the “Love Connection”. But we need to make a choice to grow.

If we don’t make a choice to grow, we can become like standing water. Standing water becomes stagnant. It starts to smell. Mosquito larvae and bad stuff begin to breed. This can happen to us. If we don’t grow, we start becoming resentful to those around us when they are doing well. We start becoming angry and jealous of their success. Rivers become fresh as they flow; they filter out all the bad stuff. “Life Happens”. Bad stuff happens in life. But growth gets us out of the stagnant waters; it acts like a filter.

We can break out of the stagnant water by listening to positive messages on Podcasts and by teaching someone else how to listen to a positive message. As we listen we grow and move forward. We start becoming a river that is happy for other’s success. As we grow, life has value again and we want to help others grow. Sometimes it takes time, but continuing to grow is vital to avoid the risk of failing to keep “Surging Forward”.

Variety – “Changing the Mundane” this is number two in our series on the Six Basic Human Needs.

We need to have variety in our lives. We don’t want to just keep doing the same thing over and over. If we just keep doing the same thing everyday, day in and day out this can lead to being stuck in a rut and feeling like you are not making a difference with people. Without variety you can get burned out. It can lead to lead to drinking or even taking drugs to try to escape.

We need to have some kind of variety in our lives, something to break up the mundane. Most of us work a five day work week, but we need sometime, evenings or better yet set aside one day a week to do something that is not work. Go on a vacation and enjoy yourself. We may think that we are too busy providing for our families to take some time off, but you need a break to re-energize yourself. Need to find some quality time to spend with family and friends so that your world is not all just about work. No matter your age we all need to have some variety to add spice and adventure in our life to keep us “Surging Forward”.

Last week’s podcast was on Certainty and Comfort where we saw that there are no absolutes so we need to make right choices.

Join me next week as we discuss number three in our series – “Significance”

This is the first of a six part series in which I will be talking about The six basis needs that we all need and how we can start the process to stay in a positive circle. Life can be tough and have many ups and downs, just having a place to go where you can find comfort in a tough situation can make all the difference. The only way that this can be done comes back to us, we have to make a choice, join me as I discuss how you can begin your own journey.

Many of us come up with that great idea that can make something easier. Yet most of us do not really do anything about it. In today’s episode of the Surging Forward podcast you will here the story of how a simple tradesman that works hard every day took a simple idea and made an actual working product that he than got into selling at his local retailer. Find out how he was able to take his ideas to reality and make a product that every electrician can use as well as any other trade that uses a simple Fish Tape. Learn how you can make you dream a reality.

In this Podcast Episode I talk about the question that many ask, “Should I give a two weeks notice?” In the discussion I will address the pros and cons as to how giving a two weeks notice or choosing not to give a notice can affect your reputation in the field as well as later on in life. Electricians, HAVC tech, Plumbers and many tradesman face these issues as well as those in other careers. How do you handle them as a worker, Project Manager, Foreman, or other Manger can mean the difference in that next great opportunity. Many look at the issues of today and fail to look at what the consequences of our choices we make will affect our future down the road. I look forward to your comments and your stories as we share the 4 reasons why you should always give a notice before quitting.

Find the Drive within you that can help you succeed. In this episode I was able to interview Ryan Jackson. Ryan shares his story about how he was able to become successful and about how to be the best a what you do. Ryan brings a passion and a drive from his experience. This experience shows us how to use the negativity that is given in life and turn it into a drive that helps you become the best you can be. Find out how you can step up to the challenge and overcome some of the many issues that you may encounter in life. Do you have a story about your success contact us and I look forward to your comments.